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A presenter left with a £419,000 tax bill has blamed the BBC for advising her to claim her salary via a personal service company.

Christa Ackroyd, for more than a decade the anchor of Yorkshire's Look North programme, has spent the past five years in a battle with HMRC.

A tax tribunal this week ruled in HMRC's favour, but said Ms Ackroyd should not be criticised because she was "encouraged by the BBC to contract through a personal service company".

Ms Ackroyd was the BBC's highest-paid regional presenter until she was let go in 2013, with a salary of £163,000 plus a performance-related bonus.

She said: "While under contract I remained confident that the BBC contract drawn up by the BBC's legal department was what it was described as - a 'for service' freelance contract."

Christa Ackroyd was the BBC's highest-paid regional presenter until she was let go in 2013, with a salary of £163,000 plus a performance-related bonus. Credit:
Guzelian Ltd

She signed the contract "in good faith" and said she had "suffered five horrendous years of innuendo and gossip suggesting I am a tax cheat. This judgment proves once and for all I am not."

Ms Ackroyd is now considering an appeal. The £419,000 figure includes some tax she has aleady paid, and her current liability is around £200,000.

The tribunal found that "the BBC wanted to contract with a personal service company to avoid any possibility of Ms Ackroyd being an employee" despite contracting her to work at least 225 days per year.

In his ruling at a tax hearing in Leeds, Judge Jonathan Cannan said it was "striking" that the BBC did not supply any evidence in the case.

He suggested that the corporation was trying to distance itself from cases involving personal service companies, noting "the BBC's position of not wishing to be aligned with HMRC or the appellant".

Christa Ackroyd, for more than a decade the anchor of Yorkshire's Look North programme, has spent the past five years in a battle with HMRC. Credit:
Christa Ackroyd BBC news Video Grab

After a 2012 Deloitte report criticised the BBC for paying over 100 stars via personal service companies, the corporation reviewed its arrangements and brought 85 presenters onto its books. Ms Ackroyd was not offered a staff job.

Speaking after the tribunal, she said: "I am delighted that the judge has recognised that I have never acted in any way dishonestly.

He accepted I was a hard-working journalist poached by the BBC to successfully improve ratings at Look North." The BBC terminated Ms Ackroyd's contract in 2013.

The tribunal heard that Ms Ackroyd was paid a £7,500 "success fee" every six months if Look North beat its ITV rival, Calendar, in the ratings. She never missed a bonus payment.

A BBC spokesman said: "We don't offer these kind of fees in current contracts and the practice was not widespread previously."